Peeps should fit right into that: they’re candy available once a year in whimsical shapes and bright colors. And they’re covered in sugar, so nothing could be sweeter, right? Wrong, if you’re my family:

bubble bubble, toil and trouble – bunnies melt and sisters cackle

So here’s the thing: I don’t actually think peeps taste very good on their own. But they are colorful. So when we started talking about using popcorn as wedding favors last year for my brother’s wedding, popcorn balls came to mind pretty quickly, especially for kids.

I wanted ones that were as simple as possible to make (the old fashioned ones come with lots of opportunities to burn yourself on hot caramel) and when I started seeing recipes that used melted peeps to make rice crispy treats, this seemed like an easy way to match up to their wedding colors too:

This is probably one of the easiest recipes I will ever post. But I will say using a microwave will get you the best results – the image of my sister cackling above not withstanding, melting them on the stovetop turned out to be more difficult, more messy, and it caramelized some of the sugar and messed up the colors.

Plus you don’t get to watch them puff before them melt, which is my favorite part of this.